App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer – Project Template Improvements

With the App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer, Project Templates are a much easier to use feature that can save companies time sequencing and testing their packages. Using Project Templates as a basis for sequencing virtually eliminates misconfiguration related deployment issues. Avoiding these issues saves time and potential support costs.

Using the Project Templates makes Sequencing easier, especially for the novice user, as well as a predictable, repeatable experience.

Changing the deployment settings for each application may seem like a trivial amount of time, but consider when this time multiplied over several hundred applications. Now consider, one or more of those application packages not deploying correctly. Tracking down the cause, bringing the package back to the Sequencer to edit, or potentially calling Microsoft Support can all add up to significant amounts of time and money. Making Project Templates a part of your sequencing workflow can provide a significant gain in efficiency.

New File Format

What is in a Project Template?

The .SPRT file saves the following settings:

Advanced Monitoring Options

Package Deployment Settings

General Options

Parse Items

Exclusion Items

How to create a Project Template

Creating a Project Template requires a sequenced application to base the template on. The Project Template can be created at the end of sequencing an application, or a previous sequenced application can be brought into edit.

On the Deployment tab:

1. Configure the Protocol via the dropdown. This also correctly configures the port

3. Delete any info in the Path field. Make sure, if you have just sequenced a package, that you save it prior to deleting the Path information.

4. Add or Remove the correct Operating Systems

5. Select or Deselect the Output Options.

Under TOOLS>OPTIONS the General Settings, Parse Items, and Exclusion Items can be set. For most of your Sequencing, the default settings should be fine, but review them for your environment.

Select FILE>SAVE AS TEMPLATE after your settings are configured correctly.

BONUS TIME SAVING OPTION:After you save the Project Template, go to TOOLS>OPTIONS and to the bottom of the General tab. You can now set an option to use the Project Template just created with "Apply template when creating new packages."

Apply the change, and select FILE>SAVE AS TEMPLATE. Save over the original template referenced.

Using Project Templates

If you did not use the Bonus Time Saving Option, using your Project Template is still incredibly easy.

1. Select FILE>NEW FROM TEMPLATE

2. Browse to your Project Template

The Sequencer will immediately go to the Packaging Method phase with Create Package selected. "Create a Package with Package Accelerator" is greyed out, as using a Package Accelerator and Project Template together is not supported.

Known Issues

There are some issues using the Command Line Interface (CLI) Sequencer and Templates and they are addressed in KB 2497312.

When you set up a new App-V environment, it is not possible to set up a "clean" sequencer workstation without snapshot twice the sequencer or using two different machines. The reason is that the project template is available AFTER sequencing a package. Doing so, my basic sequencer is against best practice already used…

If I select the "files Save as Template" option before starting any assistant, I could not setup every possible option. It´s possible to create the entries by hand – if I know all parameter names. And if I would like to use the option "apply template when creating new packages" I have to insert that file before taking the snapshot of the clean sequencer.

It would be great to get an Option to setup the template without running the sequencer to the last menu.